Coaching Youth Football

by American Sport Education Program (Editor)

Coaching Youth Football is an excellent introduction to youth coaching and teaching young football players valuable skills. It provides all the information you need to coach effectively and help 8- to 14-year-old athletes learn and enjoy the game. This third edition features the games approach to coaching football, which makes practice more fun for the kids and teaching more effective for you, the coach. Also included are chapters on communicating with athletes and parents, planning and conducting practice, and coaching during games. Developed by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP), the nation’s number one coaching education program, Coaching Youth Football provides volunteer coaches with both an explanation of their role and concrete instructions on how to fulfill that role.

Genres: Football

179 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[GREGORY]

This is a very good book for someone new to coaching at any level, but especially as the title states for someone new to youth coaching. Very detailed and informative book.

[Steve Melton]

A very good book. I would recommend it to anyone interested in coaching youth sports, and not just football. While the specifics and drills it discusses are obviously limited in scope, the principles of youth coaching that it espouses apply regardless of the shape of the ball the kids are throwing around.

It made me think several times on how I approach the youth I am currently coaching in basketball, and in my planning process for future sports as well.

The drawback on this book is that it's really not a one-stop shop for even the football coach. It has good ideas for drills, just not nearly enough. And frankly, I refuse to let my players see some of the photographs it puts forward as "examples." Bad stances, poor form, etc. Shouldn't see that in an instructional book. It would be like seeing poor spelling in your grammar book or rounding errors in your math book.

So go to another book for drills and techniques and the specifics of football. But for the approach to coaching, preparation, and dealing with youths, this book is outstanding.